The Luna He Didn't Deserve

What Breaks and What Binds

Chapter 10 –What Breaks and What Binds

(Zombie -- YUNGBLUD)

The word didn’t fade. It didn’t soften. It didn’t settle into something she could ignore.

Mate.

It stayed exactly where he left it. Between them. Around them. Inside her. No one moved at first. Not after he said it. Not after the fight. Not after everything shifted. Elena stood frozen, her chest rising too fast, her thoughts louder than the forest around them.

“You’re my mate.”

No.

That wasn’t possible. That wasn’t—

“No,” she said.

The word came out sharp and immediate.

“No,” Elena repeated, stepping back. “That’s not—no, I already had a mate. I don’t want another.”

Silence cracked through the clearing. Damian didn’t move. But something in his expression sharpened. Behind him—

Liora went completely still. “… Had?” Liora said quietly.

Elena’s stomach dropped. She hadn’t meant to say that. “That’s not what I meant,” Elena said quickly.

“You had a mate?” Liora pressed. “Past tense?”

“Elena,” Damian said. A warning. But Liora didn’t stop.

“You don’t just have a mate and then not,” she said. “That’s not how the bond works.”

Elena’s jaw tightened. “I rejected him,” she said. Silence.

“And?” Liora pushed.

Elena didn’t answer. Because that wasn’t the full truth. Before anything else could unravel—

The forest shifted. Again. Too fast. Too wrong. Damian’s head snapped toward the trees.

“Stay behind me—”

Too late. A rogue burst from the shadows. Not from the front. From behind Elena. Too close. Too fast. She barely turned—

The blade drove into her side. Low. Too low. A sharp gasp tore from her throat as the impact forced the air from her lungs. Pain exploded through her body, hot and immediate, radiating outward from where the blade had struck just beneath her ribs.

Her hand flew instinctively to her stomach.

Fear hit harder than the wound. No—

The rogue leaned in, close enough for her to feel his breath.

“Someone paid well for you,” he murmured. “And what you’re carrying.” Then he ripped the blade free.

Pain followed. White-hot. Blinding. Elena stumbled. The world tilted.

“Elena!” Damian roared.

She tried to move. Tried to steady herself. “I’m—” she started.

The word never finished. Her legs gave out. Darkness surged at the edges of her vision, swallowing the clearing, the fight, the sound of Damian’s voice—

And then—

Nothing. The world came back in fragments. Movement. Voices. Arms. Strong. Holding her.

“Elena—stay with me,” Damian’s voice cut through everything.

Her head lolled slightly against him. She was being carried. Her body barely responded. The pain pulsed in waves now—duller, deeper—but still there. Still wrong.

Her hand twitched weakly toward her stomach. Still there. Still safe. Relief flickered. Then faded.

“Move!” Damian snapped. “Get the doctor. Now!”

The urgency in his voice silenced everything around him. Wolves moved fast. Doors opened. Voices blurred. She drifted again. In and out. The last thing she heard—

Was him.

“Stay with me,” he said again.

Light. Too bright. The smell hit next. Clean. Sharp. Medical. Elena’s eyes fluttered open. The ceiling above her wasn’t the forest. She was inside. The pack doctor’s room. Her body felt heavy. Weak. And then—

Voices.

“…are you sure?” Damian’s voice—tight, controlled, but barely.

“I’ve seen plenty of pregnant women to know when someone is protecting a life inside them,” the doctor said firmly.

Silence. Heavy. Dangerous. Everything inside Elena went still.

No. No—no—no—

She wasn’t ready. She hadn’t told him. That wasn’t how this was supposed to happen.

“You’re telling me,” Damian said slowly, each word edged with something darker now, “that she’s pregnant.”

“Yes.”

Silence again. But this time— It wasn’t empty. It was building. Elena’s breath hitched. Her eyes closed again—but not from weakness. From fear. Because now— Everything had changed. And when Damian turned back to her—

Nothing between them would be the same again.

Later—

The pack settled, but the tension didn’t. It lingered. Pressed in from every direction.

Elena laid alone in the pack hospital bed, the night air cool against her skin. Her hand pressed lightly to her side again.Pain flared.

Sharp. Real. Her breath caught.

“They know about you,” she whispered.

The words felt heavier now. More dangerous.

“If they know… they won’t stop.”

Damian entered the room, his face tired from the events of the day.

“You said you’d tell me.”

She didn’t turn. Not yet.

“I was mated before,” she said quietly.

He didn’t interrupt. Didn’t move.

“He was strong. Everything a pack would want,” she continued. “And I wasn’t enough.”

Her voice stayed steady. Even if something underneath it wasn’t.

“I rejected him,” she said. “In front of everyone.” A pause. “But he didn’t complete it.” Silence stretched.

“So the bond—” Damian started.

“Is still there,” Elena finished. “Broken. But not gone.”

That explained everything. Why she didn’t feel this one. Why she fought it. Why she ran.

“He chose someone else,” she added, her jaw tightening slightly. “That was enough.”

She adjusted herself. Finally facing him. “I’m not going through that again.”

She didn’t say his name. Didn’t say where she came from. Didn’t say anything about the child. She was sure after being examined the pack doctor already told him. Damian stepped closer.

“I don’t care who he is,” he said. His voice was quiet. Certain. “Or what’s left of that bond.” Another step. “You’re here now.” Closer. “With me.”

Her breath caught.

“And I’m not letting anyone take that from me.”

No hesitation. No doubt. Just truth. And for the first time—

Elena didn’t know how to push him away. Because part of her—

The part she didn’t trust— Was starting to believe him.